This application claims priority of Taiwan patent Application No. 90210408, filed on Jun. 20, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wood planing machine, more particularly to a wood planing machine with an inclining unit for adjusting inclination of a workpiece guiding support.
2. Description of the Related art
FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a conventional wood planing machine 10 which includes a stand 11, a base 12 mounted on the stand 11, a rotary cutter 13 mounted in the base 12, horizontally extending left and right plates 14, 15 which are mounted on the base 12 and which define a work table for receiving a wooden workpiece thereon, a workpiece guiding support 16 projecting upwardly and inclinable relative to the work table, and an inclining unit 20 for adjusting inclination of the workpiece guiding support 16. The inclining unit 20 includes a guiding seat 21 that is secured to a rear side of the right plate 15 and that is formed with a lateral first groove 211 and a lateral slot 212, a first sliding member 22 that is mounted slidably on the guiding seat 21 and that has a lateral plate 222 and an upright plate 221 with a vertical groove 2211 at one side thereof and a vertical slot 2212 aligned with and in spatial communication with the vertical groove 2211, a second sliding member 24 mounted on the upright plate 221, slidable along the vertical groove 2211 and having a concave face 241, and a third sliding member 23 secured to a rear side of the workpiece guiding support 16 and having a convex face 231 that conforms to and that is slidable on the concave face 241. A curved slot 232 is formed in the convex face 231. The lateral plate 222 has a bottom side that is formed with a second groove 2221 vertically aligned with the first groove 211, and a rear side that is formed with a retaining hole 2222. An elongated guide piece 27 is received in the first and second grooves 211, 2221, and is fixed on the guiding seat 21 so as to permit the first sliding member 22 to be slidable on the guiding seat 21. A first tightening unit includes a screw rod 252 extending through the lateral slot 212 in the guiding seat 21, a first nut member 253 disposed underneath the guiding seat 21 and threadedly engaging the screw rod 252 so as to tighten the first sliding member 22 relative to the guiding seat 21, an eccentric lever 251 extending through a head of the screw rod 252 and into the retaining hole 2222 in the lateral plate 22 and turnable for fastening and loosening the first sliding member 22 on the guiding seat 21, and a handle 254 associated with the eccentric lever 2521 for turning the latter. A second tightening unit includes a second nut member 263 disposed at and capable of abutting against the other side of the upright plate 221, and a threaded rod 252 threadedly engaging the second nut member 263 and extending through the second nut member 263, the vertical slot 2212, the vertical groove 2211, the second sliding member 24, and the curved slot 232 in the convex face 232 to connect with an anchored member 261 which spans the curved slot 232. A handle 264 is connected to the second screw rod 262 for driving the second nut member 263 toward the upright plate 221 SO as to fasten the second sliding member 24 to the third sliding member 23, and away from the upright plate 221 SO as to loosen the second sliding member 24 from the third sliding member 23.
The wood planing machine 10 is disadvantageous in that the sliding movement of the first sliding member 22 on the guiding seat 21 is not smooth since it relies only on a single rail, i.e. the guide piece 27.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wood planing machine that is capable of overcoming the disadvantage described above.
Accordingly, a wood planing machine of this invention comprises: a main support having a laterally extending work table that has front and rear sides; a rotary cutter mounted on the main support and disposed underneath the work table; a workpiece guiding support projecting upwardly from the rear side of the work table and inclinable relative to the work table; an inclining unit including a guiding seat that is secured to and that projects laterally and rearwardly from the rear side of the work table, a first sliding member that has a lateral plate which is slidable on the guiding seat in a first lateral direction toward and away from the workpiece guiding support, and an upright plate which projects uprightly from the lateral plate and which is formed with a vertical groove at one side thereof and a vertical slot aligned with and in spatial communication with the vertical groove, the lateral plate having a bottom that is formed with parallel wedge-shaped first and second grooves which extend in the first lateral direction, the guiding seat being formed with a lateral slot and a lateral guide rail that has a first wedge-shaped end which is capable of wedging into the first groove, a second sliding member that is mounted and that is slidable on the upright plate along the vertical groove, and that has a concave face, and a third sliding member that is secured to and that projects from the workpiece guiding support, and that has a convex face which conforms to and which is slidable on the concave face so as to permit the workpiece guiding support to be inclinable relative to the work table, the third sliding member being formed with a curved slot at the convex face; a first tightening unit including a fastening plate that extends through the lateral slot, that has a second wedge-shaped end, and that is movable in a second lateral direction transverse to the first lateral direction between a locked position, in which, the first and second wedge-shaped ends wedge into the first and second grooves to abut frictionally against the first sliding member so as to prevent the first sliding member from sliding on the guiding seat, and an unlocked position, in which, the second wedge-shaped end moves away from the second groove so as to disengage the first and second wedge-shaped ends from the first and second grooves and so as to cooperate with the first wedge-shaped end to form a guide rail that permits the first sliding member to be slidable thereon, the first tightening unit further including a first screw rod that is mounted on the guiding seat and that threadedly engages the fastening plate so as to move the fastening plate between the locked and unlocked positions; and a second tightening unit including a nut member that is disposed at the other side of the upright plate, an anchored member that is disposed at one side of the third sliding member opposite to the second sliding member and that spans the curved slot, and a second screw rod that threadedly engages the nut member, that extends through the nut member, the vertical slot, the vertical groove, the second sliding member, and the curved slot to connect with the anchored member, and that is turnable so as to drive the nut member toward the upright plate to tighten the second and third sliding members relative to the upright plate.